CO2 trapping capacity cut by warm fall

QUEBEC CITY, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- A new study says warmer autumn temperatures are reducing the ability of Canada's northern forests to remove carbon dioxide from the environment.

The report, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, said autumn temperatures in northern latitudes have risen by about 2 degrees Fahrenheit over the past two decades.

Using computer modeling to integrate forest canopy measurements and remote satellite data, researchers found that autumn warming greatly increases soil decomposition and significantly reduces carbon dioxide uptake.

Researcher Philippe Ciais of the Global Carbon Project said the potentially rapid decline in the future ability of northern terrestrial ecosystems to remove atmospheric carbon dioxide would make stabilization of atmospheric CO2 concentrations much harder than currently predicted, the report said.